David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister will have an opportunity to respond.

The economy has experienced significant growth in areas in which employment is low paid and much less growth in areas where jobs are higher paid, which are what the economy needs. Polarisation is also evident in regional development, with some regions not performing as strongly as others. As the Minister is aware, the south east is not performing as it should and the region continues to face serious challenges, including massive unemployment.

Between 250,000 and 300,000 people are still unemployed nationally, of whom slightly more than 60% are long-term unemployed. We have lost a large number of people to emigration in the past six years and the problem persists. The labour market has lost 85,000 people aged under 35 years since the Government came to power. The emigration figures demonstrate that the vast majority of people want to work. People want to get off the live register and get a job to provide for themselves and their families. The problem is that there are still not enough jobs for those who want to work. The focus must continue to be on helping those seeking employment by creating the jobs they need.

I will focus briefly on the issue of regional disparities. I remind the Minister of the unacceptably high level of unemployment in the south east. In doing so, I also acknowledge the role he has played in bringing together stakeholders in the south east as part of the Government's efforts to create jobs in the region. While there has been some good news on that front, unfortunately the south east still has the highest unemployment rate of all the regions. Waterford city has unacceptable, if not dangerously high, levels of unemployment. This creates distinct problems, which must be addressed through a cohesive, multifaceted, joined-up approach by Government agencies and Departments. Job creation in Waterford city and county requires a suite of interventions from Government and non-government agencies.

Like the Minister, I am very proud of where I come from, namely, Waterford city. I am also proud of the people who live in the city and the efforts being made by entrepreneurs, the community and voluntary sector and civic leaders to create jobs and opportunities for people in the city and county. It is distressing for people in the region to see the live register figures. While the data nationally offer some good news and there has even been some good news for Waterford in terms of new jobs, the level of job creation in the region is insufficient. It is hard to be positive when one comes from a city with the highest unemployment rate in the country. As someone who represents the Waterford, I understand that people living in the city and county do not understand the reason unemployment in the area is so high. There is no reason Waterford should underperform to the extent that it does. It gives me no pleasure to say that as I would love more jobs to be created in the region. I celebrate every job that has been created in Waterford.

The Government can take a number of actions to support the regions. The Minister will be aware that as part of my work as a member of the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I took a proactive decision to meet as many organisations as possible in the south east to discuss what the south east needs and what steps should be taken to assist the region. I met representatives of the chambers of commerce, the enterprise agencies, the community and voluntary sector, local government, the vocational education committees and the education and training boards. The joint committee published a strategy for the south east which recommended that a number of steps be taken. They include the establishment, as soon as possible, of a technological university. A level playing pitch is also required in respect of regional aid. The IDA must make greater efforts to assist the region, including through the establishment of a regional office with a regional director and strategy.

I accept that there is no panacea or magic bullet available for the south east. What we need is a strategy that joins up the work of all of the stakeholders and agencies. The interventions which everyone in the south east accepts are necessary must be delivered by the Government. This has not been done to the extent it should have been done. Some of the commitments in the programme for Government, including the undertaking to establish a technological university in the south east, have stalled. Meanwhile, the region continues to wait and underperform. I appeal to the Minister to continue the work he is doing to assist the south east region and Waterford city in creating jobs and to ensure we do our best for people in the region. I call on him to ensure the cross-party recommendations issued by the joint committee are implemented. We must demonstrate that the political system has done its best, not only to create more jobs nationally but also in regions that are underperforming.